Interest Grows In IUDs, Vasectomies As Patients Look Ahead
With Roe v. Wade possibly soon to be overturned, many Americans of childbearing years are researching secure birth control plans. And a new poll of women ages 18-29 finds that half would still seek out a needed abortion, even if illegal.
The Washington Post:
People Are Getting IUDs And Plan B Ahead Of A Possible Post-Roe Future
Last week, as soon as Sydney Phillip read about the leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, she booked an appointment to get an IUD. Intrauterine devices are one of the most effective forms of birth control, and getting the long-acting contraceptive had been a floating item on her medium-term to-do list. She’s been using the birth control pill, a method that has about a 7 percent failure rate for typical use. The potential consequences of that margin of error felt tolerable — until now. (Higgins, 5/10)
Houston Chronicle:
Searches For 'Vasectomy' Spike In Texas After Roe V. Wade Leak
The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade sent shock waves across the nation. It also appears to have driven interest in another topic: male birth control options. Google Trends data shows that searches for the word “vasectomy” spiked in Texas on May 3 and 4, the first two full days after Politico published an initial draft majority opinion indicating the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Searches for “vasectomy” also skyrocketed elsewhere in the U.S. (MacDonald, 5/10)
Also —
Axios:
Poll: Over Half Of Young Women Would Get An Abortion Even If It Was Illegal
Over half of young women aged 18-29 say they would get an abortion if they had an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy — even if it were illegal, according to a new Generation Lab flash poll first provided to Axios. Last week's news that the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade has raised questions on what access would look like without a federal right to an abortion. Even in states where they remain legal, abortions could be harder to access because those clinics could be flooded with patients from states that have cracked down. Women in their 20s accounted for the majority of abortions between 2010 and 2019. (Chen, 5/10)
The 19th:
Exclusive: New Poll Captures How People With Disabilities Feel About Abortion
Disability has been used as something of a political football in the abortion debate. For decades, fetal abnormality and disability have been part of abortion-rights advocates’ argument that people need access to the procedure. Anti-abortion advocates, meanwhile, argue that disability-motivated abortion is discriminatory and devalues disabled life. But people with disabilities themselves have been largely absent from the public debate on abortion rights. Now, new poll results, shared exclusively with The 19th, shed light for the first time on how people with disabilities view the issue. (Luterman, 5/10)
USA Today:
Abortion Bans Would Be Riskiest On Women In Maternity Care 'Deserts'
Women living in maternal health care “deserts” will face greater health and well-being risks if a draft opinion from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade leads to state abortion bans, experts say. People who are pregnant or recently gave birth in areas lacking maternal health care – obstetricians, hospitals with delivery units or birth centers – already face a greater risk of death than mothers who live in areas with more robust medical access, research has shown. And experts say the risks are even greater in these areas for moms of color, who already have disproportionate maternal health outcomes. (Hassanein, 5/10)
KHN:
Ripple Effects Of Abortion Restrictions Confuse Care For Miscarriages
As the Supreme Court appears poised to return abortion regulation to the states, recent experience in Texas illustrates that medical care for miscarriages and dangerous ectopic pregnancies would also be threatened if restrictions become more widespread. One Texas law passed last year lists several medications as abortion-inducing drugs and largely bars their use for abortion after the seventh week of pregnancy. But two of those drugs, misoprostol and mifepristone, are the only drugs recommended in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines for treating a patient after an early pregnancy loss. The other miscarriage treatment is a procedure described as surgical uterine evacuation to remove the pregnancy tissue — the same approach as for an abortion. (Huff, 5/11)
